Sleuth
by MeteorLeopard
Summary: Renji has found a new hobby: Sleuthing. Some might call it stalking, but Renji begs to differ. He is simply following her, not stalking. Not at all. Nu-uh.


**Hey guys! I'm back after my stupid exams! I now have lots of time to write in between my holiday job! So I wrote this Rentatsu one-shot a couple of weeks ago but haven't had time to beta it and post it. Never mind, here it is and I hope you like it... Enjoy!**

**Lots of Love **

**Author: MeteorLeopard (SugarFox)**

**Title: Sleuth**

**PS If I owned Bleach, I would keep Renji in a jar all for myself! Nevertheless, because I don't, I will have to settle for Rentatsu…**

Rentatsu – Sleuth

_When the one you need crosses your path like a windblown leaves in autumn, you need to pause and examine the rusty leaves. Do not ask why there are seasons, merely enjoy the fading summer breeze, because without it the leaves cannot fall and you will never meet your true soul mate. So when the rusty sheets glide down, gather them up, and cherish how they match your soul, their colours swirling in the wind…_

Renji sleuthed further and grinned at the dark haired girl he was secretly following. He had been on her tail the entire day, and if he wasn't so absolutely fascinated by her, he probably might have felt a little bit silly. Stalking a complete stranger, it was like one of those movies where the serial killer follows his victims from a distance before killing them. Not that the thought of killing her had even crossed his mind. He wasn't really into killing anything unless it seriously pissed him off, like hollows did. Following wasn't against the law was it? In the real world it might just be, he mused, and he didn't particularly care.

Renji had started to follow her from the second he saw her this morning outside Ichigo's school. She was just casually leaning against the pillar next to the school gate waiting for her friends. He couldn't explain it, but he just felt a gravitational pull in her direction, as if he couldn't refuse, even if he wanted to. Her flashing eyes and teasing grin, the way she unconsciously sashayed her hips as she walked down the street. Her school skirt resting midway up her thigh, swaying from side to side as she strolled, it caused his stomach to clench. He was like a fly caught in her dew drop web, trapped, the only difference was that he didn't really mind. She was the most beautiful spider he had ever seen, or even human girl for that matter.

She was intriguing, the way she amused others with her sarcastic and witty remarks and she seemed to have a firm grasp on intelligence that some ditzy girls lacked. Renji watched her. 'Stalked' wasn't a very nice word but there wasn't any other way of putting it. She had a busy day and now that it was late afternoon, it looked like she was on her way home from karate. He had been rather impressed when she had taken down three guys at once, with a smug smirk plastered to her face. It had been hilarious to watch those sad boys sulk their way to the locker rooms.

Renji sprung lightly from rooftop to rooftop, watching a cool breeze blow through her spiky hair. She turned off to a small house and he automatically followed, hot on her heels once more. He hid quietly in an alleyway, leaning against the wall near some empty dumpsters. Peeking around the corner his gaze followed her. She made her way to the gate and he flinched as it gave a high-pitched creak, swinging open. She walked up the garden path, jingling her keys, and then went inside the quiet house. Now that she was out of his sight, he felt the pull a little less. He didn't like the emptiness one single bit, he felt almost lonely.

He clambered onto the neighboring rooftop and whilst making himself comfortable he watched her house for any sign of her. Having her out of his sight was a strange feeling, not painful, just rather uncomfortable, he didn't like it at all. He saw movement in an upstairs window and his stomach clenched again, when he saw her begin to remove her top. Making her way to the window in her light blue sports bra, she drew the shutters, blocking his view. He didn't know whether to be disappointed or relieved and felt slightly guilty when he admitted to himself that he really wouldn't have minded seeing more…

He lightly leapt to her roof, glad that he was in his Shinigami form so that no one could see him. It was rather convenient. He sat on her roof above what he assumed to be the bathroom, since there was the unmistakable sound of a running shower.

He tilted his head to the one side and grinned as he heard the sweet sound of a high voice singing above the water. So, she was a singer too. An intelligent, singing, karate girl was not something you heard about every day, he mused. He wondered what his taicho would say if he saw him at this current point in time. Though Kuchiki taicho couldn't talk, he'd stalked Rangiku for months before he approached her. He heard the shower shut off and decided to shift off her roof and back to the alleyway.

There wasn't really a point to this action but staying in one spot for too long made him jittery and nervous. He randomly hummed to himself, leaning against the wall, one foot up against the red bricks. His stomach gave a growl and he ignored it. As hungry as he was he couldn't sum up the power to walk away from the strange girl, no matter how much his stomach protested.

He lifted his head as he heard her emerge from her house, pulling her keys from the lock. She walked out of her gate and made her way down the street. After her shower, her hair was damp and left in a cute disheveled state to dry naturally. She had changed out of her uniform and now donned a pair of snug fitting bootleg jeans and a small blue top. His thoughts flashed back to her blue bra and he blushed, mentally scolding himself. This was not the time. He followed her again, sticking to rooftops or even shadowed alleyways. It was stupid since he was invisible anyway, but he still felt like a criminal. Following this random girl, he felt like a little puppy following its master. He didn't know, he couldn't explain it, it was like the closer he was to her the more content he felt, more complete.

He watched the girl make her way to the park, the cool breeze ruffling her still damp hair. The park that was usually filled with chattering children was empty. She made her way to a park bench on a hill. There were many other benches but he could see that she wanted that specific one. Renji followed, still curious to see what she was going to do. She was unlike any other girl he had ever seen, and after living for over 100 years, he had seen many girls.

He switched from running on rooftops to nimbly climbing from tree to tree before he settled in a huge oak a few meters away from her bench. This was the closest he had been to her and he gave a silent sigh, it felt so nice for some reason. She just sat there unmoving, her back towards him as he kept his gaze on her. His eyes drinking in the mere view of her. She quietly watched the sun start to set, the light casting golden rays on the autumn leaves of his hideout. She shifted and his attention was on her again, like an automatic switch.

"You can come out now, I know you are there." She said softly and he nearly fell out of the tree in surprise. Surely, she couldn't see him. Renji didn't know if she was angry or upset since she hadn't turned for him to see her face. He weighed up his options, she didn't sound mad, and he really couldn't resist her invitation to get closer. He jumped nimbly out of the tree and walked to her, his heart beating furiously. This was stupid, he thought, surely she is the same as any other girl? Though deep down Renji knew there was no other girl in his life past, present or future, that would ever have as huge an effect on him.

"How long?" He asked, pausing, her back still to him. She patted the seat beside her and he sat down as he was told. He saw a grin slowly spread across her features and he was rather surprised by it. She continued to do that to him.

"Since this morning. Your sleuth would have worked better if you didn't assume that no one can see you in Shinigami form." She laughed and he felt waves of warmth radiate through him, her laugh was like a warm breeze on a summer's day.

"I suppose I should explain myself…" He started feebly, and she just moved a little closer looking at his blushing face, her face mirroring his. His heart beat faster with every second that passed, he willed himself to concentrate on what she was saying.

"Nah, I probably should have confronted you earlier too, but I don't know why didn't..." She confessed with an awkward smile playing on her lips, her eyes trained ahead of her. She turned away from the sunset to look at his face.

He returned he smile and then extended his hand. "Well then I guess I should introduce myself, Abarai Renji." She shook his hand, playing along with his introduction thing.

"Arisawa Tatsuki. So why exactly were you following me, Renji?" She asked him before turning to look at the sunset again.

"To be honest I haven't got a clue. I just liked being close to you." He admitted sheepishly and she looked at him again, unfolding her arms and leaning towards him. "It's going to sound strange, but the closer I am to you–"

"–the more complete you feel." She finished for him and he remained silent in shock. She had parroted the rest of his sentence exactly as he was about to say it. Was that normal? Not unless you found a person who was a piece of you.

"Exactly, I assume you speak for experience?" Renji chuckled amused, and she blushed.

"Shut up, I can't change how and why I feel like that, I just do. I just felt drawn to since the second you started following me this morning."

He studied the girl beside him in the silence and he felt that strange tugging in his stomach again, he wondered why he felt this way about a girl he hardly knew. Although, right there in the setting sunlight and golden tones of autumn leaves, he decided he didn't care.

When he slipped his hand into hers, she just sighed and sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder they watched the stars come out. Both content in the silence, it wasn't awkward but rather an understanding. It was strange since they didn't need an explanation as to why, for some reason they just needed each other. They just did, and though they might be strangers, they were already closer than best friends. This was right, he thought to himself, the closer the more complete.

**So? Did you think it was cute? I hope so… Oh well, I have a three part GrimmNel story coming out as soon as it has been beta-ed and I also have some more one-shot ideas. So now that it is holiday I will be updating a lot faster. Any comments and suggestions are welcome, so please click on the cute little review button and let me know what you think! Also, a big thank you to everyone who has ever left a review on anyone of my stories! You guys are my favorites… So don't tell the others. ;)**


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